Stealing Hearts (Wild at Heart #1)(83)

Jace coughs dramatically. “I hate to break up this happy reunion, but we have a situation over here.”

The guy moans, and I smirk. “Look at that. He’s not dead. Guess I don’t need my shovel.” I look at my wife. “Who is this guy? What did he do to you? Because I can still break both his legs.”

Paige bites her bottom lip. “Call the sheriff. It’s bad.”

A growl rumbles through me. “If this son of a bitch touched one hair on your head…”

She shakes her head. “I’m fine. This isn’t about me. It’s about the ranch.”

I let out a sigh of relief and reach for my cell. With my other arm, I hold her close and kiss her forehead. I don’t let her go as I call the sheriff.

In fact, I’m never letting her go.





47





PAIGE




Shivers rack my body by the time the sheriff’s cruiser arrives. Rhett waves him over to the path that leads to my attacker, who’s being guarded by Jace.

Rhett hasn’t let go of me since he found me, and I lean into his side.

As Sheriff Reynolds strides toward us, my heart beats harder.

That fear I had when I was in high school, the worry Rhett won’t believe what I saw this morning, makes my stomach hurt. I haven’t told him what happened yet. I’ve spent the last few minutes trying to gather my thoughts.

But then I glance up at my husband, and the look he gives me makes all that negativity melt away. Leaning down, he presses a kiss to my forehead, and I hug him closer, his sturdy presence centering me.

“What do we got here?” the sheriff asks.

Rhett motions behind us. “Some asshole attacked Paige this morning. Chased her into the damn forest.”

“Who is it?”

I shake my head. “I never got a good look at him.”

And since the guy’s face is kinda smashed from where I took him out with a thick branch, Rhett couldn’t figure out who he was.

We head down the trail to where Jace is leaning against a tree. At his feet, my attacker is moaning and holding his face.

The sheriff frowns when he sees him. “Jimmy Calhoun? That you? Or did you steal Jimmy’s belt buckle?”

That’s when I notice the gaudy JC belt he’s sporting.

Harlan’s son.

Jimmy moans. “That bitch hit me.”

Rhett growls, and I grab his arm.

Sheriff Reynolds turns to me. “Can you explain what happened?”

I rush to get out the important stuff. “He’s the one sabotaging the ranch. He and Harlan. They’ve been stealing our cattle, making them sick, and returning them to infect the others.” If I understood them correctly. “He was paying off the state livestock guy, someone named Dods, to quarantine our herd so that we’d miss the auction this weekend, default on our loan, and be forced to sell him our ranch dirt cheap. I overheard them talking this morning behind the cemetery. They saw me, and then Jimmy chased me.”

My husband curses under his breath, and that anxiety resurges. I’m making claims against his long-time family friend. What if Rhett doesn’t believe me? Nauseous, I cross my arms.

The sheriff lifts a brow. “Those are mighty big accusations.”

Rhett’s nostrils flare. “You calling my wife a liar? Do you think she ran out into the forest and attacked a man for shits and giggles? If Paige says that’s what happened, that’s what fucking happened.”

I blink, needing a moment to replay what he just said.

He believes me.

Rhett’s on my side. Relief hits me so hard, I almost stagger.

Reynolds holds up his hands. “Cool your jets, Walker. I’m just saying, that’s a lot to swallow.” He turns to me. “You got any proof?”

“I recorded them talking, but when Jimmy started chasing me, I dropped my phone in the cemetery. I’m not sure what I got on video.” It’s possible the footage is grainy or it didn’t capture much audio.

The sheriff calls an ambulance while Rhett and I look for my cell, which we find under a bushy hedge.

Nervously, I thumb through my phone until I get to the video.

Rhett’s hand comes over mine. “You don’t need to be anxious, wildflower. Whether you caught something on video or not, I got your back.”

My eyes well, and I sniffle. “Thank you. You don’t know how much that means to me.”

He gently cradles my face. “I have a feeling I do. And I want you to know I’ll never doubt you again.”

I push up on my tiptoes and kiss him. “I haven’t forgiven you for touching Darlene’s elbow at the Moonlight Mixer and one or two other things, but we’ll talk about that later.”

“Darlene who? As far as I’m concerned, there’s only been you.”

I grin and shake my head. “You smooth talker.”

The sound of an ambulance makes us turn. Jace joins us, and we watch paramedics rush into the forest.

Taking a deep breath, I play the video.

It’s wobbly and a little grainy.

Harlan’s voice is clear as day. Rhett stands next to me vibrating with anger, but when he hears Harlan bark to “get her and shove her in the trunk,” my husband loses it.

“That motherfucker.”